I'm not dead! Wooooot! Anyways, I was actually planning on finishing this chapter a week ago, but I got tied down with schoolwork. :/ But, here it is now! I hope you enjoy. ;)
I don't own these awesome things of the mostest bestest. Sadly. :'( This is also self betaed, so if there's bad grammar or spelling mistakes, my bad.
\_(-_-)_/
This is set four years after A:TLA, and two years after HTTYD2. Also, I added some OCs, but they are necessary for plot. So please don't hate me. :(
()!()!()~~ And, because one of my awesome reviewers asked, here are the characters' ages. :)
Aang-17
Katara-18
Sokka and Suki-20
Toph-16
Zuko-21
Hiccup, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Astrid-22
Eret-about 23(not sure about canon age)
Camicazi-17
Lost Things Are Inevitably Found
Hiccup and Toothless landed softly on the island the Berserkers inhabited, and gazed around for the welcome party. Berserkers' were very terrifying and almost without any humanity when they were angry, but when they were calm they were actually okay to be around. And very good at making pie.
"Yo, Grand Chief! How's it hanging?" A bulky man strolled onto the beach, his ears were pierced by small bones and his dark brown hair was kept in a shaggy ponytail. The man may be completely pleasant and cheerful at most times, but Hiccup knew that the currently highest ranking Berserker clansman was a deadly warrior unlike any other.
And once a Berserker became angry, they appear to lose their very humanity and sense of surroundings. Insult them -intentionally or not- and they're nothing more than mindless, rage-consumed beasts of power. And best pointed in the direction of enemies, while everyone else gets back and takes cover. Long story short? Never piss off a Berserker. Not if you want to continue living, or maintain the joy of having limbs.
Hiccup turned to the grinning man and smiled in return. They shook hands and the younger man looked around for any remnants of the ice problem that was the nature of the message sent by a Terrible Terrors messenger, but he didn't see any ice. Or anything remotely resembling ice. "...why was I really called here, Talon?"
Said man shifted uncomfortably, and hesitantly answered. "The real reasons were not fit to be put in the letter I sent you. There have been ice problems, yes, but it's more about water as a whole… some of my people have been moving it, you see."
Hiccup frowned in confusion, but then his eyes widened as he realized what the man in front of him was implying. Yohann did say that bending was not as lost to the islands as everyone thought.
"How?" The Chief sank down onto the sand, his legs had suddenly felt like they were made of yak-blubber. "How is this possible?"
Talon stared at him; tensed and ready for something that he expected to happen. But honestly hoped it didn't. "What will you do with them?" He asked quietly.
"Do? What do you mean? What would I do with them, they're your people." Hiccup asked, confused as to why the man was acting similar to a beached fish that was about to be eaten by a terrifying and hungry dragon.
"In Viking culture… this would be considered sorcery. And would be punished by execution. By death. No one has shown any signs of controlling the waves in decades; at least, not recorded."
Talon continued before Hiccup could interrupt. "Maybe nothing like this has happened to anyone on Berk, but I would understand if you want us to keep tradition." He finished in a quiet, almost defeated sounding voice.
"What?! No, of course not." Hiccup's proclamation shocked the other man, and Talon looked up from the ground; stared, dumbfounded, at the Grand Chief. Hiccup continued. "Why would I want you to do that? Tradition used to be killing dragons before they killed you, and I proved that ideal to be completely unnecessary and idiotic. So why can't I do the same with this?"
The Chief laid his hand on the other man's shoulder with a small smile. "They are your people… just let me see what we are dealing with here, and I'll do my best to help. We've had enough death from the dragon war, so how 'bout let's not be hasty?"
Talon's eyes filled with relief, but he was still tense and unsure of what Hiccup's reaction would be to actually meeting the people they had just spoken about. Ask any Viking, and they'd tell you Grand Chief Hiccup was a great man. But he was also a warrior, and he had his people to protect. No matter what. A Chief protects his own, was the mantra from Hiccup's late father, Stoick the Vast; a powerful man. One of the best of any of the fondly remembered chieftains.
A great leader. Something that must run in the blood. Hiccup is nothing, if not caring. For his people, and for his dragons. A great match that his Night Fury was also an alpha, so they both could lead their own kind; while standing side by side in unbreakable friendship.
Talon led the way down the beach to the sturdy village surrounded by black, unyielding stone. The Berserker island was full of defenses -catapults, natural quicksand pits, numerous highly trained archers- and no one has ever managed to chase them off their rock they called home. The midnight walls and uneven gates were decorated with, and made out of, what looked to be many different sizes of sharpened bones.
Two warriors, one tall and bulky, and the other shorter and somewhat thin, but with a gleam in his eyes that told of much untapped potential and knowledge; stepped into the village's walls.
Hiccup took everything in, and raised a brow in curiosity as Talon led him into what he knew was the older man's own hut. When they walked inside -they had left a sulking Toothless outside- the armoured house, Hiccup spotted a cheerful little girl, around seven or eight; having her red hair braided by her mother.
"Rain, this is Chief Hiccup, and he has come to look at our daughter." At her husband's words, the mother looked up nervously, and unconsciously held the girl tighter.
"It's okay, I'm only here to look; nothing will happen to your child. I promise." Hiccup said as calmly as he could, not wanting the woman to go berserk from too much stress.
The female warrior, Rain, nodded and picked her daughter up off her lap and set her on her feet on the wooden floor. Hiccup crouched down to the girl's height, and smiled as she grinned, albeit nervously, at him. "My name is Hiccup -it's alright, you can laugh- can you tell me what your name is? Though I bet yours would be much better than mine."
The little girl giggled at his very unique name, and then replied in a shy voice; rocking back and forth on her heels. "I'm Kari, nice to meet you, Hiccup." The young Dragon Master sighed internally in relief; glad that he wasn't as awful with children as he had first thought.
"What a very pretty name, and I can tell it fits you perfectly." The girl giggled again. "Now, I was called here to help with your very special gift, can you show me?" Hiccup watched as the girl became nervous, and Talon put a hand on her shoulder to keep her calm. Even Berserker children have anger issues.
"Kari, you can show the man, he will not hurt you." The girl stared at the floor, not looking at her father. "I know I said not to let anyone find out, but Chief Hiccup will help you, okay sugar?"
Kari's eyes widened. "You're a Chief?!" She pointed at Hiccup; jaw dropped. "But then why do you have such a weird name? Shouldn't you have a name that's better for that?" She looked adorable with both of her eyebrows raised all the way up, and her head tilted to the side in innocent confusion.
"Yes, well, my name is supposed to keep trolls away; though I'm not sure how that would really work. Maybe my parents just had a sense of humor." Hiccup sighed. "Anyways, I'm only here to help; I consider all of the clans my people, and that includes you." He smiled at her and she grinned back wolfishly.
"Okay, but try not to faint at my awesomeness, mister Hiccup Chief guy!" Kari walked across the room to a bucket of fresh drinking water in the corner. She stuck her small hands inside of it, and when she took them out… the water followed.
"Amazing… I've never seen anything like it." Hiccup breathed in honest astonishment, as the girl continued to weave the ball of water through the air using only her will. It was like magic. Now I understand why someone would call this sorcery. But it wasn't. This was waterbending.
"You recognize this." Talon stated; instead of questioned. He had spotted the telltale widening of the other man's eyes.
"Not exactly, but I know what it is, just not how she is able to do it." Hiccup watched as Kari's face scrunched up in concentration. "This is no sorcery; she's a waterbender."
"So the stories about the Elemental Nations are real?" Talon breathed in sharply.
"Yes, they are."
Rain looked at her daughter in wonder. "So our Kari can… but how will she learn more? There's no one that I know of on the islands that can do what she can with water. The Bog Burglars have always had strange rumors around them, though never anything that has to do with waterbending."
"What rumors? I haven't heard anything like that about the Bog Burglars." Hiccup asked Talon's wife. He didn't miss the glance they sent each other, and he knew that they were deciding what knowledge to impart. Deciding if they really could trust him.
Entrusting someone with your life, was, after all, vastly different from trusting another soul with your deepest secrets.
"Some say they're a little too light on their feet than they should humanly be able to be. But you'd have to ask them yourself to know for sure, idle gossip should never be trusted." Rain responded with a harmless looking smile. Like a Berserker could ever be harmless.
Ah, so they're trying to sidetrack me; Bog Burglars are notorious at spreading rumors, and never pass up a chance to pull a prank on someone. But the people in front of him definitely knew the truth about… whatever this was. Must be something big, then. And they would know that attempting find out directly from the lovable thieves themselves would be anything but helpful. Hiccup shrugged, he'd find out sooner or later. These kinds of things always came out into the open the most chaotic way possible; especially around him.
The girl had stopped by then, and had put the globe of water back into the bucket. "Daddy, did you see? I could move the water very well!" Kari grinned up at her father.
"Yes, very good." Talon smiled sadly at her. "I only wish we could help you do more with your gift."
Hiccup rubbed his slowly growing facial hair in contemplation. Already twenty-two and still without an impressive beard. Terrible Viking, just terrible. He shook his head from the unnecessary thoughts that cropped up every now and then. Maybe it's just a symptom of severe sleep deprivation. Dang job. Paperwork is evil.
"What if I can find someone to help her?" Hiccup asked after a few more moments of thinking. Yohann should know a way to contact someone that can bend water. I'm pretty sure of it, and even if he can't, I'll just have to find someone myself.
Talon and Rain frowned at him. Then the broad shouldered man spoke. "How would you go about doing that? And how do we know if this person would be trustworthy? I'm not letting just anyone on this island, barely any other Vikings from the other clans are let in. You excluded, of course." Talon's eyes held some dark humor in them. Everyone knew what happened to those who tried to attack the Berserker's home, and not all the bones decorating the walls of their village were from animals.
"I… I have someone that could potentially contact a teacher for your daughter. He's definitely a reliable source, if a bit enigmatic at times." Hiccup said evasively.
"It's Yohann, isn't it." Rain deadpanned.
"That's not.. What I meant was… you know him?" Hiccup gave up and admitted to being caught, asking a question of his own instead.
Rain rolled her eyes at the Chief's startled expression. She wondered what they taught kids these days, because the young man in front of her had absolutely no idea how to shirk a question.
"We've known trader Yohann for years, me and him go way back. He brings wares that we can't find anywhere else, because well… Berserker's can be a little unreliable at a market with their, as some might say, explosive tempers. We're not the best at business that doesn't include whacking a few heads together. Or just dealing with people in general." Talon said self-deprecatingly, and wrapped an arm around his crimson haired wife.
Hiccup nodded with a wry smile. He understood what was being said, and was glad that these people had someone as mild mannered as Yohann. The old trader had accepted dragons fairly well, years ago. So why wouldn't he have looked past all the gruesome stories that claimed Berserkers were nothing but bloodthirsty savages, as well? Every argument had two sides, after all. And sometimes, even more than that.
Kari walked over to Hiccup and startled him by wrapping her small arms around him in a hug. She grinned up at him through messy, orange hair. "Thank you."
"What for?" Hiccup frowned. Why would she thank him? He didn't even do anything. Of course he was planning to find a way to help her, but that may take a while, and depended on whether or not Yohann had any waterbender contacts.
"For not being mad because of what I can do. You're a nice man, mister Hiccup, Chief person." Kari smiled and let go of his middle. She ran over to her parents, hiding behind her mother's leg. She peeked out to look at Hiccup from her mother's side with a giggle.
Light green eyes lit up happily as the young Chief looked down at the little girl. A Viking waterbender. What could possibly happen to be more exciting than that?
Suddenly alarm bells were being rung, and enraged shouts could be heard from outside. The door burst open with a crash as Toothless ran inside the large hut, startling Kari.
I really, really should stop taunting the universe. It never ends well. Hiccup breathed in a preparing breath of air to calm himself for whatever was going to happen next.
Toothless ran to his side and nuzzled the one legged man, checking to see if the idiot human was still in the same condition as when he'd let the him go inside by himself. At least that was what Hiccup imagined the handicapped black dragon thought.
"It's alright, Toothless, I'm perfectly fine. Not sane, but okay nevertheless." Hiccup consoled. Toothless snorted, but calmed down a little. The Chief glanced over at the others inside the cabin, reminding himself that not all the clans have as plentiful an amount of dragons as Berk's inhabitants.
The Berserkers really only had experience with the Skrill, and that lightning-wielding dragon had been lost for several years now. Ever since Dagur -the previous chief of the Berserkers- was stopped by Berk's dragon riders when he tried to take over the riders' island. Dagur had then became deranged and was later exiled due to his treachery to his own people. He was killed two years previously by Drago Bludvist's army.
Shaking his head to concentrate on the here and now, Hiccup turned to the red haired girl. "Kari, this is Toothless, and he's very nice so you don't have to afraid of him. You can even pet him, see?" He said, placating the shy girl, and then showed her where to put her hands on the dragon. Kari was giggling as she quickly became distracted with the Night Fury, and Hiccup turned to make eye contact with a worried looking Talon.
The loud yells and clattering from outside were getting louder, and Hiccup could make out the sound of clashing metal. Who would be stupid enough to attack the home of the Berserkers? It would not just be idiotic, but plain suicidal. Only one group of Vikings would have the nerve to do this-
"Outcasts." Talon spoke aloud, his pupils already starting to dilate with his anger.
"Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go show those no-good, lying thieves why they should've just stayed on their island in exile!" Hiccup shouted, unsheathing the handle of his retractable sword and releasing the blade to its full length, flint and steel at the ready to alight the dragon-saliva coated sword with fire.
Talon grinned and they both took off running out of the hut, and then stopped abruptly. The Berserkers had already pushed the Outcast warriors back to the shore, and hadn't appeared to be sweating or tiring in the least bit. Nope, the island's inhabitants appeared to be enjoying the invasion, as short as it was.
"Well, that was disappointing. I didn't even have to get out the explosive arrows." Rain said sadly from behind them, holding a strung longbow in her hands.
"Yeah. Looks like they're already boarding their ship and leaving. Still, it doesn't even make sense that they would try to attack us in broad daylight. They know how strong we are, and they just don't have the numbers to face off against our warriors; especially if we become angry. So why do it?" Talon said, rubbing his beard with a thoughtful expression.
As the Berserkers who had been fighting the not well thought out ambush came back up from the beach, Hiccup went through different scenarios inside his head about all the possible reasons for this attack. What would the Outcasts gain? The island was chock full of high-grade iron ore, one of the reasons the Berserkers liked the area so much. Weapons were very important to them.
What would be worth risking their lives for? Nothing. Hiccup couldn't think of anything to answer that question. Sure, iron ore was useful, very useful, for mass-producing weapons and such. But there were numerous islands -some even uninhabited- that also had stores of ore. So that couldn't be the reason for the assault.
Hiccup scratched Toothless behind the ear as the curious dragon came out of Talon's home. "What do you think, Bud? Can you guess the reason behind this attack?"
Toothless snorted dismissively.
"What does it matter if it's already over and done with? We need to know why. And I don't believe the Outcasts are as moronic as this event just revealed them to be. Something's up, and I'm going to find out what." Hiccup said, and nodded his head in resolution. He'd find out the real reason behind this, and hopefully before anyone got hurt.
Eret sighed contently as he stretched out against Skullcrusher's scaly side. He was enjoying this guarding mission so far, and hoped it stayed as uneventful as it had been going. No attacks, steady breeze in the sails, and plenty of quiet to take a light doze in…
"Eret! Let's play a game, come on. Please? Please, please, please?" Camicazi drew out the last please and gave the former dragon trapper her best puppy eyes she could manage. "Do you hate me? Is that why you're ignoring me? I bet it is. Is is because I'm blonde?" The Bog Burglar girl gasped. "You think I'm stupid because of my hair color, don't you?!" She shouted in outrage.
Eret sighed. So much for a peaceful afternoon. "No. That's not the reason." He said, closing his eyes again.
"Oh. Good." Camicazi grinned. Then frowned as some inane thought of hers got her attention. "Then what is the reason?" She said, glaring at him.
Eret groaned in exasperation. This had been his life for the past several hours, and if it wasn't for the fact that he had Skullcrusher with him -Yohann's upgraded ship was large enough to fit several riding dragons- he would've jumped overboard the first hour at sea. No, that wasn't quite right. He would've jumped off the first ten minutes.
Camicazi was just plain insane. And not the good kind of insane that made Hiccup decide to train a Night Fury; the crazy kind that led to blown up meeting halls, and sweaters on chickens, and… other extremely terrifying things.
"Leave the poor man alone, lass." One of the shiphands, Dart, said with a smile. And Eret relaxed. "He's just not all that great at talking to girls, so he's just being shy." Dart said, and smirked at Eret's betrayed glare in his direction. Dart was just messing with the kids, it was the only worthwhile entertainment on this boat.
"Oh, really?" Camicazi said, batting her eyelashes at Eret. He could see her trying to stifle her snickering.
Eret sighed. "Just go... watch the clouds, or something." He said. And he deliberately ignored the crazy girl's salute as she skipped away from him, humming a catchy tune.
Eret guessed that she must have gone to check on her messenger dragons that she'd brought along. Bog Burglars had been found to be adept at training Terrible Terrors at sending letters, and Camicazi had several of the small dragons since her mother was basically in charge of the excessively borrowing clan. Read; polite thieves. Shaking his head, Eret closed his eyes, and laid back against Skullcrusher's side for what felt like the ninth time that day.
So far they had been sailing for an entire day, but there were making great time since Yohann knew all the good routes to avoid the choppiest currents, allowing them to bypass all those unsafe waters that could pull even the most buoyant ships under their depths. Eret shuddered, and he couldn't help pitying any poor souls who tried to sail through these waves without someone who knew them personally. That would be disastrous.
"Looks like it's smooth sailing from here on out, Skull." Eret said through a yawn. There was nothing to worry about, and nothing to do but relax and enjoy the ride. Oh yes, he could definitely get used to this.
"What, in Thor's name, is that?!" A high pitched yell from the other side of the ship disturbed his resting.
"Camicazi, I swear, if this is just another trick to make me panic and give you an excuse to throw me overboard to 'save my life' then I am not going to bother getting up." Eret didn't even bother to open his eyes as he responded lethargically.
"That's a metal ship. A ship made out of metal… and there's some really weird looking people on it." From the sound of the awed, but gruff voice, Eret knew that it was Dart talking.
Slowly, the former dragon trapper opened his eyes. He had decided that whatever was bothering the two most annoying people on the entire boat was something he should look into. Eret stood up and stretched, making his way over to the railing crowded with excited crew members.
Eret stared. There, only a few hundred meters away, was a rather large metal vessel that appeared to be powered from some kind of steam. Hiccup would be asking them nonstop questions about how it worked if he was here, was the first thought that came to his mind.
Shaking his head to concentrate on the matter at hand, he turned his thoughts onto why that ship would be there. And how. Because the water should have been nearly impassible, and no one who looked as foreign as these strangers could have had the knowledge to sail the safer waves to where they needed to go. Already Eret didn't trust these newcomers, who knew what they were here for, and what they planned on doing.
Yohann strided confidently out of the cargo bay doors, and as soon as he saw the other ship, he smiled. "Looks like we might have some company real soon." The old trader hummed, and Eret -along with pretty much every single listening shiphand- glanced at him in confusion, did the old graybeard finally lose his marbles, at last?
"Let's get ready to greet them, since it looks like they haven't noticed us yet." When the crew hesitated, Yohann sighed before elaborating more. "I recognize their flag, it's the symbol of the Fire Nation. And beside that -albeit smaller- are the symbols for air, water, and earth. We can trust these people."
Eret started to walk over to Yohann and was about to question just how the old trader knew the flags of various long-believed-to-be-mere-myth countries well enough to read them from so far away, but Camicazi's unintelligible shouting kept him from the inquiry.
She was pointing furiously at the other ship and blabbering on about monsters. No, Eret thought, she was pointing to what was in the water beside the ship. Quickly as he could, the young man readied a telescope and spied out across the distance.
And what he saw coming out if the water chilled him to his bones.
Feeling as if all the oxygen had left his lungs, Eret rasped at the same as Camicazi whispered, "Drago's Bewilderbeast…" Sharing a glance, the former dragon trapper and Bog Burglar communicated without any words.
Then they simultaneously moved into action. Camicazi ran to her trained Terrible Terrors, and he turned to the crew.
"Yohann! We need to give them backup before they're sunk, the currents will pull under any survivors before they even have a chance, so they'd need our help to keep them from being iced to death." Eret said to the owner of the ship, and the old graybeard nodded happily.
He couldn't see what was happening over there exactly, but from the little he could discern, these new people were hanging in there so far. Eret shook his head, these people must be fairly sturdy to survive on the ocean with a dragon that uses ice, of all things. He only hoped that they wouldn't be too startled when Camicazi and himself went over to lend a helping hand.
The only word that could possibly define what was going on the deck of his ship, would be chaos. Complete, and utter chaos. Throw-a-bucket-full-of-needles-into-a-sandstorm kind of painful, terror-filled chaos.
And Zuko was right in the middle of it.
"Get down!" He heard Katara yell from somewhere to his right, and the young Fire Lord complied. The sinister, teal colored ice that was heading straight for him stopped and was diverted to the side. The ship tilted slightly with the extra weight on on that end of the deck.
Breathing a sigh of relief at not becoming a frozen shish kabob, Zuko quickly ran to where the standard issue trebuchets were tied down, and covered with tarps. He could see Aang running to Katara's side, and the other members wobbling above decks; jarred from the impact of the monstrous dragon's furious charge.
"Men to me!" Zuko yelled, and his honor guard and sailors -excluding the few that had been knocked out- jogged over to his side.
"Are you alright? We saw the ice, and... we give our most sincere apologies for failing in our duties." The ten members of the elite protection team bowed low as one.
Sighing, Zuko replied, "I would never expect anyone, no matter how highly skilled, to pit themselves against that-" he pointed at the dragon. "Understood?" His men nodded. "Good. Because right now I need your help to ready these so we can help melt that ice before it damages this sorry boat, alright?" He said with a small smile, and the men all became less tense. Good, this is really not the time for nervousness.
The Fire Nation soldiers hurried to Zuko's side to remove the protective tarps covering the trebuchets. They worked quickly and smoothly, and soon were firing spheres of fire to free the thick ice that was covering the opposite end of the large ship. The men also aided in cover fire for distracting the gigantic dragon that had currently mostly retreated back into the water, the tip of the monster's head spines serving as the only evidence of it still waiting for the next opportunity to attack.
Zuko glanced around after that had been done with, and nearly fell backwards when he spotted a small dragon speeding towards him. The green reptile was about the size of small child and was oddly cute, in a way. Until it landed on his face, then it was no longer as cute looking.
Prying the dragon off of him, Zuko held it at arm's length and glared at it. The dragon's tongue lolled out of its mouth as the green animal appeared to smile at him. That's when he noticed the little harness on the dragon's back that looked like it was made for carrying letters. Almost similar to a messenger hawk, Zuko mused.
Opening the leather container, Zuko pulled out a letter stamped with a red seal that looked like a roaring dragon. He broke the seal and noticed it was written in Norse, for a second he wondered if these people could be allied with the dragon attacking his ship, but then he shook his head and decided to just read the letter before he jumped to conclusions.
Hi, strange people on the metal boat! We noticed that your ship is under attack by a rogue Bewilderbeast, and as much as we would love to jump to your rescue -we really would, believe me. We just need to know that you would not attack us when we land aboard.
As you might have noticed, this area you have entered has dragons, and dragons can be very terrifying.
So, as long as you send out your response with Cheese, my Terrible Terror, stating that you are fine with us boarding your ship in an alternative way than usual -since our ship is too far out to get to you in time to help with anything- we would be glad to help out.
Sincerely sincere, Camicazi, amazing Viking of awesomeness, and the the best sword master of the Bog Burglar clan. And soon, the world.
Zuko stared at the letter for a moment, before he folded the colorful paper up and put it into his pocket so he could have evidence for later that it really happened. He gazed out over the waters, and spotted a small blur that could only be a ship off into the distance. Zuko blinked when he almost thought that he had seen something only a little smaller than Appa flying around the far away ship's sails.
Turning to the still extremely happy dragon, the Fire Lord took out the extra sheet of paper and writing utensil that were inside another compartment of the dragon's harness-pack thing. He quickly and smoothly wrote back in Norse.
We will not attack you or harm you in any way, shape or form. You have my word.
However, I will need to inform you that you may see some of my crew and others on board my ship use abilities that may not seem possible. So as long as you do not become frightened of that, we will not feel the same towards what you might have implied in your letter.
I thank you for your upcoming assistance, Fire Lord Zuko.
Rolling his reply up, he tucked it back inside the dragon's pack. Zuko wasn't sure if they would end up really needing the help in the end, since there were several pretty capable benders on the deck, despite Toph not being able to see much on the metal flooring. But meeting with the people who lived here would be nothing but beneficial to finding out more about dragons.
Camicazi frowned at the paper. "This guy must be pretty full of himself. And what, in all festering dragon dung, is a Fire Lord?" she waved the letter around in the air for emphasis.
Eret walked over and was about to take the letter from her to read it himself, but Yohann beat him to it and Camicazi handed it over with an uncaring shrug. Yohann looked over the paper several times before settling to merely stare at the signature with a look of deep thought on his face. "A Fire Lord is a person with much the same position as a chief, a leader of his people. Except he's in charge of a large country several hundred time the size of Berk. And also someone you would not want to piss off."
Camicazi smirked slightly, and Eret felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine at the feeling of doom the short girl was radiating. Shaking his head, the ex-dragon trapper went to stand beside the, without a doubt, much more sane Yohann.
Reading over the older man's shoulder, Eret raised an eyebrow. "And what abilities could they have that would be just as surprising as riding over there on a dragon?"
"Bending."
The two Vikings stared at Yohann incredulously. They must have heard him wrong, because there was no way he said what they thought he had just said. Catching sight of Eret's disbelieving expression, and Camicazi's carefully placed smile, Yohann shook his head.
"What is it that's so hard to believe about a person bending the elements? Dragons do it, most only bend fire, but there are some that do not. Timberjacks use their enormous wings to channel air into a slicing wind, Whispering Deaths use earthbending to dig tunnels through the ground, and the sea-dwelling Scauldrons are masters of an old form of waterbending that heats water to a boiling point almost instantly." Yohann sighed happily. "You can find the most wondrous things, if only you take the time to look, and keep your mind open."
"So bending is real…" Eret gazed contemplatively at the still far away metal ship. "But why hasn't there been anyone found with the ability to bend around here? Unless it's something that only happens to those born outside these waters? But that still wouldn't make sense because…well, it just wouldn't."
Yohann looked like he was about to add a comment, but Camicazi grabbed Eret's arm and used the limb to point in exasperation at the large ship in the distance, effectively distracting him. Yohann merely shook his head fondly, and walked away to find some slacking sailors for him to scold into doing the work he was paying them for.
"Let's go! Come on. If we don't get there soon, then there won't be anything left for us to fight!" Camicazi complained as she dragged a much too slow Eret to an amused Skullcrusher.
He sighed as he mounted the saddle, and didn't so much as twitch as Camicazi jumped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was practically vibrating in excitement. "Ready?" Eret called out, but he already knew the answer.
"Hell yeah! I was born ready!" Camicazi cackled madly as they took off into the sky, and delighted in the disturbed looks that her laughter brought out from her face-tattooed companion. She sighed mentally, I will never stop freaking people out for the fun of it, their faces when they're convinced I'm insane are just too hilarious. Not to mention observing how someone reacts to being pushed too far is a great way to judge character. Staring at the ship they were fast approaching, she tilted her head in thought, I wonder how these newcomers will react?
Smoothly moving her arms through another waterbending stance, Katara deflected the small wave of seawater the massive dragon had sent towards the ship when the beast had reemerged from its retreat into the deadly current's depths.
"Katara! Why do you think it's attacking us? I don't know much about dragons, but this doesn't appear to be their normal behavior." Sokka said, before wincing slightly at his sister's annoyed glare. Obviously Katara was not in the mood for a chat at the moment, he mused, and ducked some greenish ice that was, thankfully, thrown by the dragon. She wasn't actually upset with him. Or she was just too busy to whack him over the head right then.
"Okay, maybe this one's different, since it uses ice instead of fire, but the constant 'retreating and then attacking again' is really starting to get on my nerves. Almost seems as if it's playing with us, like a Polar-bear-dog stepping on an Arctic-mouse's tail, and letting go only to capture it's prey within it's paw just before the little rodent could escape." Sokka ended his revelations with a disturbed shiver.
Katara didn't blame him. The dragon had just hidden itself again in the water, and this time it went completely under; leaving only small whirls of water where it had disappeared. If the beast really was playing with them, they would need to end this fast, before anyone got hurt.
She glanced around, trying to feel the water to get a read on the dragon's position. Frowning, she found the giant beast. Katara could almost feel the water under the ship as the dragon moved, and not for the first time that hour, she wondered what it wanted. There had to be something driving it, some kind of goal that made it attack. Some reason for what was happening.
The ship veered sideways violently as the dragon rammed underneath the metal shell, but Katara managed to steady herself and keep her ready stance with some well placed ice. She could hear Aang trying to keep the spooked Appa calm with soft words, and saw Sokka help Suki up from where the Kyoshi Warrior had fallen in the blast. Toph was holding on for dear life by the railings attached to the entrance that led to below deck, emptying bags of sand that she'd brought on board across the metal flooring.
And then she saw Zuko staring off into the sky with a very pensive expression. Wait, what? She stared at the young Fire Lord, wondering if the guy had finally snapped. She was disturbed from her thoughts by the gasps of the crew around her. Glancing around in confusion, Katara tried to find what they were distracted by. It wasn't until she noticed that the scarred Fire Lord hadn't moved from where he was standing, staring at the sky, that she finally spotted what all the fuss was about.
A dragon was flying right towards the ship. And it had two people on it, an excited, whooping woman, and a frowning man. They're riding the dragon… how? Katara couldn't stop staring. She barely even noticed Zuko waving off the guards on the deck, while saying something about a strange letter. She managed to recollect her brain just as the the strange, green and brownish red colored, neck-plated dragon that reminded her somewhat of a Rhinoceros landed on the deck in front of her.
The grinning woman, who looked more like a girl in her teens -about Katara's own age- from close up, was practically bouncing up and down as she took in as much of the ship as she could after she jumped out of the saddle before the dragon had even landed completely. She had tangled, light blonde hair, and a sword resting on her hip.
The exasperated man, who had a face tattoo and looked to be in his early twenties, had just stepped out of the saddle and onto the deck. He carried a wide dagger sheathed at his belt and a crossbow slung across his back. The man scratched the dragon behind its neck, and turned to Zuko, who Katara had seen start to approach the dragon-riding duo right as they had landed.
"Welcome to my ship, you can call me Zuko. I'm assuming you're from the letter." The young Fire Lord said in Norse.
Katara raised an eyebrow at that, usually he introduces himself more formally. But theses were Vikings, maybe they didn't really have lords. They had chiefs, and Katara knew that in the Water Tribes, or at least the southern, that you didn't rank your Chief as royalty. Maybe that was what the Vikings did too. And what letter? How come Zuko never tells us these things?
The beefy dragon rider opened his mouth to introduce himself, but then the girl slung an arm around him and started speaking instead. "I'm Camicazi, and this idiot is Eret. He's okay, when he's not being stupid and dissing blondes." She said with a smug smirk. Eret attempted to remove Camicazi's arm and she effortlessly pulled him into a headlock, nearly choking the breath out of him with her strong grip. Katara couldn't help liking the energetic girl, and Camicazi reminded her of someone she knew, if only she could remember who…
Suddenly, Aang whooshed next to her, and the airbender started bombarding the two newcomers with questions. The two Vikings looked a little dazed, so Katara decided to help out. Putting a hand on the teenage Avatar's shoulder, she spoke up calmly, also in the Norse language. "This is Aang, he's a bit… enthusiastic. And I'm Katara, nice to meet you." Aang stopped buzzing around and gave Eret and Camicazi a sheepish smile.
"Hey, people! I think that's enough introductions for now. Aren't we here to fight a dragon? So… where is it?" Camicazi scratched her head as she glanced around, forehead scrunched up in concentration.
Sokka walked over with a slightly wary Suki, carrying his moon-sword and answered for the group. "The ice dragon is playing with us, and is hiding in the water at the moment, probably just waiting for us to relax before it atta-"
Katara's brother didn't get to finish his sentence before the large reptile they had just been speaking about emerged from the water with a furious roar, moist spray filling the air and soaking everyone on the deck. The horned dragon that Camicazi and Eret had ridden over on let out a distressed whimper upon looking up at the monstrous beast towering over the ship, and Eret laid a soothing hand on it's neck.
Zuko raised a brow and shared an humorless smile with Sokka, raising his arms into a ready position. The Fire Lord then smirked and said, "looks like playtime's over, kids. Now it's time for the real game to begin."
Preview for next chapter
Katara gazed into the widening eyes of the gigantic dragon in front of her, and she suddenly felt sadness for the animal. This beast had been used as a weapon it's entire life, and now even that pitiful existence was gone. He must feel so alone…
The Bewilderbeast's nostrils flared and she could see the dragon's huge mouth opening wide to attack.
But instead of moving to defend herself, Katara released her control on the water swirling around her arms, and the liquid dropped to the metal deck with a splash. The dragon halted his attack, and tilted his head, studying her; trying to figure her out.
And slowly, Katara smiled.
A.N: Yep, that's a wrap. I am ever so sorry for ending it there, but I gave you guys a preview! And about that preview... It's not exactly word for word what's actually going to happen, but as close as I can make it since the next chapter isn't completed yet. ;)
Oh man, I wanted to add so much more... but then it was already 7K and I also didn't want you people to wait so long. So here. Please review and let me know if you have any thoughts, ships or whatever. I am probably not going to have a lot of romance in this story, but the little I do will not be slash. I don't write slash, sorry.
And I can not thank you guys enough. 10 reviews last chapter! Wow! That's amazing since the first chapter only got one review. And that one review was from my sister... so yeah. You people rock! ;D
Also, I had to add in the thing with Sokka's sword because I seriously nearly cried when he lost it in the show. It was a MOON SWORD. And sorry that Toph wasn't really in this chapter, you'll see her in the next one. Along with lots and lots of action.
Kay, bye~~~